PATASKALA, Ohio (AP) - Police say a man killed his wife and their 9-year-old son before killing himself in their home on a private lane in suburban Columbus.

Pataskala Police Chief Chris Forshey says the bodies of 46-year-old John Eckard II, 45-year-old Nicole Eckard, and son Nicholas were found Thursday morning after a business associate contacted police.

William Beer says he received a letter from John Eckard thanking him for taking over Eckard's land-surveying company and saying that the family would soon be dead.

Beer says John Eckard was ill and that the family, which owned a used car dealership, lived beyond its means.

Forshey says John Eckard was found in the living room of the four-bedroom colonial on five acres. The others were in their bedrooms. He says each appeared to have been shot once in the head.